JACKSONVILLE, FL – SEPTEMBER 16: Running back Arian Foster #23 of the Houston Texans rushes upfield against the Jacksonville Jaguars September 16, 2012 at EverBank Field in Jacksonville, Florida. Houston won 27 – 7.

Since the start of his second year in the league, running back Arian Foster has become the hub of the wheel in the Texans’ offense. Since the beginning of 2010, he leads the league in yards from scrimmage at 138.2 per game. And Texans coach Gary Kubiak keeps him busy. In 2010 Foster accounted for 35.9 percent of his team’s yardage on offense. It was 30.9 percent last season and this season, even with limited work in two blowout wins, Foster is still at 29.7 percent.

2. Texans will test Broncos middlemen

Kubiak runs the same kind of high-percentage, catch-and-run passing game with the Texans that he called for so many years in Denver on Mike Shanahan’s staff. And he will have seen what others in the league have seen — that the Broncos are still on the hunt for answers, both in the base defense and in the nickel, to cover the middle of the field. And Texans quarterback Matt Schaub has directed 29 of his 46 completions this year to running backs or tight ends, particularly to tight end Owen Daniels to go with Foster and running back Ben Tate. Those three have 24 catches combined already this season.

3. Texans’ second-year DE is high-wattage player

Texans defensive end J.J. Watt, selected in the same 2011 draft class the Broncos selected Von Miller, has been nothing short of remember-when dominant thus far. He leads the Texans in solo tackles with 10, has three sacks and has knocked down five passes in just two games. Some guys don’t knock down five passes in a career.
In 38 defensive snaps against the overmatched Jaguars, Watt still had five tackles, 1½ sacks, two tackles for losses, three hits on Jacksonville quarterback Blaine Gabbert and recovered a fumble.

4. Broncos need Elvis in the building

Elvis Dumervil has never had a sack in a season opener thus far in his career, a total that now includes this season. Dumervil didn’t have a sack Monday night against the Falcons either and found himself in a rotation at right defensive end with Robert Ayers. The Broncos need Dumervil’s knack to disrupt an offense, especially with Miller seeing more and more double teams on the other side — the Falcons repeatedly doubled the second-year linebacker. That should allow Dumervil to attack single blocking more than at any point in recent seasons.

5. It’s not if you fall, it’s how you get back up

Monday night’s loss in Atlanta was the 16th time in his storied career that Peyton Manning has thrown at least three interceptions in one game. The Falcons played a variety of coverage looks and caught the future Hall of Famer with three of them early in the game. But few players adjust as quickly as Manning — he didn’t have a turnover after the first quarter and was 11-of-17 passing for 199 yards and a touchdown in the second, third and four quarters combined. Kubiak has warned his players all week to expect a bounce-back game.

CenturyLink, the telecommunications company that ended its sponsorship agreement with Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall because of his protests during the national anthem last year, said it will not terminate its agreement with current client Emmanuel Sanders.